Highlights

• Mount Ridley's patent-pending Selectro™ Process achieved 96% vanadium recovery from a third-party titanomagnetite sample in a two-stage leach test, alongside 49% titanium and 78% iron recovery.

• Titanomagnetite is the host mineral for the majority of global vanadium production, and the result demonstrates Selectro™'s ability to recover vanadium and titanium together without the conventional high-temperature salt roast step.

• Selectro™ has now been successfully applied to three distinct feed types: Grass Patch clay, bauxite, and titanomagnetite, expanding the addressable market for technology licensing.

• The titanium recovery result also links directly to the company's CSIRO Kick-Start program, which is assessing titanium-scandium alloys alongside aluminium-scandium alloys for advanced Manufacturing applications.

Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX:MRD), an ASX-listed critical minerals explorer and technology developer, has announced results from the second third-party feed test of its wholly owned and patent-pending Selectro™ Process, conducted on a titanomagnetite sample provided by an external party. The test delivered recoveries of 95.5% vanadium, 48.6% titanium, and 77.6% iron across two Selectro™ leach stages, further demonstrating the technology's capacity to extract multiple valuable metals from complex feed materials without relying on high-temperature processing steps conventionally used in the industry.

How the Two-Stage Selectro™ Process Worked on Titanomagnetite

The test was designed as a two-stage Selectro™ leach, with each stage targeting different metals based on the solution chemistry and the loading conditions. In the first stage, vanadium and iron were taken into solution preferentially over titanium, leaving a titanium-enriched residue with the titanium dioxide grade increasing from 14.2% in the head sample to 21.5% in the first stage residue. The company believes that solution loading — with the solution becoming heavily loaded with iron and vanadium — was the key constraint on titanium recovery in this stage.

The titanium-rich residue was then subjected to a second Selectro™ leach stage using fresh solution. In this stage, titanium leached preferentially over iron, lifting overall titanium recovery more than fivefold from approximately 9% after the first stage to 48.6% across both stages combined. The combined recoveries — achieved without the high-temperature salt roast used in conventional titanomagnetite processing — demonstrate a multi-metal extraction pathway that the company believes has the potential to reduce both the cost and complexity of processing this ore type.

Significance for Vanadium Supply and Energy Storage

Titanomagnetite is the primary host mineral for the majority of global vanadium production, and conventional processing has historically targeted vanadium alone, with titanium and iron typically reporting to the roasted residue for separate treatment. The Selectro™ result suggests a pathway to recovering titanium and iron as co-products alongside vanadium from the same feed, which could improve the Economics of processing titanomagnetite outside the dominant supply regions.

The commercial context for vanadium is shaped by the growing interest in vanadium redox flow batteries as a long-duration grid-scale energy storage technology. Unlike some other battery chemistries, vanadium redox flow batteries use a liquid vanadium electrolyte that is non-flammable and retains its value through multiple battery lifecycles. Global vanadium supply is highly concentrated, with a significant share coming from a single major producer region, which has historically contributed to price volatility. Selectro™'s potential to support economically viable vanadium production from titanomagnetite in alternative jurisdictions is therefore relevant to the broader energy storage supply chain.

Expanding the Selectro™ Portfolio and Next Steps

The titanomagnetite result adds vanadium and titanium to the suite of metals Selectro™ has demonstrated the ability to recover, which already includes scandium and rare earth elements from Grass Patch clay and gallium, aluminium, and iron from bauxite. The company is now engaged in discussions with engineering groups on the design of a Selectro™ demonstration plant, which it envisions could showcase the technology on multiple feed types for prospective licensees and partners.

The titanium result also creates a strategic linkage with the company's Grass Patch Project and its CSIRO Kick-Start program with Lab22, which is assessing both aluminium-scandium and titanium-scandium alloys for additive manufacturing. Titanium-scandium alloys are positioned as premium next-generation materials for aerospace and defence applications. The company intends to complete a larger-scale Selectro™ bauxite test to demonstrate separation and purification stages, and to engage with vanadium and titanium producers regarding the commercial application of the technology.

Key Insights

The progression of Selectro™ across three distinct ore types — Grass Patch clay, bauxite, and titanomagnetite — demonstrates a technology platform with potential applicability well beyond Mount Ridley's own project. Each additional feed type broadens the potential licensing market and provides more data to support the design and positioning of the demonstration plant.

The link between titanium recovery from titanomagnetite and the company's CSIRO scandium alloy program is an interesting strategic connection, as it suggests the company is building a coherent narrative around both Upstream processing capabilities and Downstream advanced materials applications. Observers may monitor progress on the demonstration plant design, the bauxite scale-up test, and any formal engagement with vanadium and titanium producers.